A Child's Light
by DatLeafeonTho
Summary: Akashi x Kuroko (eventually). Kuroko was abused as a child, blamed for the death of his mother. When his father beat him again in Seirin, he wishes he was an innocent child once more, and it may be more than he actually wanted. Akashi Seijuuro finds a young blue haired toddler that reminded him of Kuroko, and decides to take him in. Only time will tell what will become of them both
1. Prologue

A Child's Light

Kuroko wasn't always quiet. In fact, he used to be the loudest kid around, and his old neighbors could attest to that. He would never stop taking, and a lot of people complained that he just _wouldn't shut up. _He was loud and talkative and had quite a few close friends. All up to when he turned six, when his mother died. She had been desperately ill since Kuroko was born, the birth putting extreme strain on her frail body. His father blamed Kuroko for her death, and started abusing him. With each passing day Kuroko's boisterous attitude and happiness diminished drastically. He was but a shell of his former self at seven, just a hollow and beaten shell. When his teachers started to question his sudden change in attitude and health, his father moved. The abuse only got worse as time went on, and his father took on drinking. He was beat harder the more drunk his father was, and it was the worst on his parents' anniversary. His father was particularly drunk on that day, and it didn't help that he was practically the mirror image of his mother. The abuse continued even as he was accepted as the Phantom sixth member of the Generation of Miracles. By the time he was sixteen, he was fed up. He left his father and the Generation of Miracles, the piling stress getting to him.

He had moved to Seirin for relief, to take up life as he did when he was young. He found out the hard way that once you're hollow, it's hard to become whole again. He had gotten as close as he possibly could, but he was still a mere shadow of his actual self. His presence remained at an all-time low, his loud personality still buried deep, unable to surface. Even with his new light, it wasn't enough. Something was missing, something important. He didn't know what it was, and it pissed him off. Stress was slowly building as he realized this, but it was multiplied tenfold when he was contacted by none other than his father. In the middle of practice. In a room full of people who don't know of his past. Kuroko panicked when he knew exactly what day it actually was, the day of his parents' anniversary. Fear gripped his heart as he thought of all the harsh beatings he always received, and he wouldn't put it past his father to come after him. His phone continued to vibrate across the room, and he thought about ignoring it. His hope was crushed as Kagami pointed out the fact that his phone was 'Being annoying as hell' and he should answer it. He struggled to keep the fear off of his face as he shakily picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said quietly, relieved when his voice didn't waver.

"You know who it *hic* is, ya bastard." His father slurred, obviously drunk. Kuroko felt his heartbeat quicken, his body shaking violently. "Yeh think since ya moved that I couldn't get yeh? I'll come o'er there and kick yer ass." Kuroko flinched visibly as he heard glass break, a string of curses trailing over the phone. Kuroko gulped loudly.

"Y- You stay away from me." Kuroko stuttered, his voice shaking almost as much as his body. He must have said it in a louder voice than he thought as he saw nearly everyone in the gym look at him in shock. All of the gazed turned to concern when they saw him shaking like a wet Chihuahua.

"Oi Kuroko, you alright?" Kagami called from a few feet away. Kuroko ignored him; too busy worrying about his drunken father.

"Don't tell me what ta do, ya brat! Yeh want ta end up like yer mother?" He said threateningly, the sound of a car door slamming shut going through the phone. "I'm gonna getcha today, brat." Kuroko couldn't remember the last time he had been this scared. He'd been enjoying his time with Seirin so much he nearly forgot about his father, an apparently fatal mistake. The reception was severed, cutting him off from his father. Kuroko shakily put his phone away. He wasn't safe here. He wasn't safe anywhere. He could run, but his father would find him. He needed to at least defend himself. His father would be there any minute, and rushing into this without a weapon of some sort would be suicide this time around. This time was different than the others, this time his father would kill him. Not wasting another precious second, he dove into his bag, searching for his pocket knife. It wouldn't do much, but it might save him. When he pulled it out, he was greeted with shock from his teammates.

"Whoa, what the hell are you gonna do with that?!" Kagami shouted, backing up. Kuroko flipped the knife open with shaking hands. He was gone, feral from the fear that consumed him. He walked slowly towards the door, knife in hand.

"Not safe… Not safe anywhere…" Kuroko chuckled crazily, his eyes wild as he advanced towards the exit. "I was never safe. I was a fool to think I was… I guess I never knew the meaning of safety." Kuroko rambled to himself, forgetting there were other people in the room.

"Hey, calm down!" Kagami shouted again, grabbing Kuroko's shoulder. Kuroko acted on instinct, lashing out with the knife. Kagami cried out in pain as the knife nicked the side of his hand. Blood dripped from the wound as Kagami clutched it. Kuroko's eyes widened in shock as he saw what he did. Kagami looked at Kuroko in the same manner. Kuroko dropped the knife, the handle slipping from his trembling fingers.

"What the hell's going on Kuroko?! Why did you even _have_ a knife on you?!" Kagami cried, angry now as the situation settled in. "And what do you mean you're not safe?"

Kuroko took a deep breath to calm himself down. "He'll kill me. I'm not safe anymore."

"Slow down, who's going to kill you?" Hyuuga asked, walking up to him with concern on his face. "Why aren't you safe?"

Kuroko was silent for a moment before replying truthfully. It was about time they knew about his crazy ass father. He wouldn't tell them the whole thing; he wasn't ready for that yet. "My father." He said simply, shocking everyone. "He's hated me for a while. He's resorted to violence many times before, but this time he wants me dead. He just called, he's coming for me." Kuroko paused for a moment before sighing tiredly, sinking to the floor. He kicked the knife away from him. Now that he thought about it, he might be better off if it ended. It may actually be better for everyone if he just died. He smiled sadly at the thought, relief seeping into his eyes the more he thought about it. He sighed again, bringing a hand to his face. "Why can't I just be five again...?" He muttered as he stood, walking towards the exit again. Before anything else could be said, he left with a final word.

"Goodbye." His friends wouldn't get the meaning until it was too late.

-Line-

Kuroko had confronted his father head on, not even caring about the consequences. His father had only yelled at first before the first strike was thrown. His father had bashed an empty alcohol bottle over his head, sending him to the ground. His father delivered harsh lows, but Kuroko hardly felt them. He was somewhere else, only numbly aware that anything else existed. He wasn't quite unconscious, but he wasn't completely conscious either. He was in some cruel state between the two. He only just barely registered his father's retreating figure as his world faded to black.


	2. Chapter 1

Akashi's POV

Akashi Seijuurou was not having a good day. His father was too busy to take care of business with two clients at once, so he let Akashi handle one of them. Akashi had no complaints; he was used to handling some of the clients. Well, he didn't have any complaints at first. The conversation was going fine until he had rejected the client's wishes. The client had started being a total douche, ranting with the sense of a toddler. It was actually _really_ mentally straining for Akashi to keep himself from just upright stabbing the client with his scissors. He refrained from acting on that urge however; it would just cause his father unnecessary grief.

Dealing with that asshole of a client had left Akashi in a bad mood and extremely irritated. He was just walking back to his apartment when he saw the form of something just ahead of him. He saw a mop of unruly light blue hair and was intrigued. He walked up to it, noticing it was a small child, no older than six, laying face-first on the concrete. Akashi heterochromatic eyes widened as he saw the beaten state the child was in. There were harsh bruises lined along the child's tiny limbs, bleeding from multiple cuts. There was a gash in the back of his head, his blue hair caked in dried blood.

Akashi scowled dangerously. Who would do this to a child? What sort of sick bastard would beat a child this badly? Akashi bent down, gently picking up the child. His eyes widened again as he saw the child's face.

He looked almost exactly like Tetsuya. Even through the stream of dried blood that ran down his face, the blue-haired child was practically Tetsuya's mirror image. Something deep inside of Akashi told him that this was important, but he had something more important to worry about. He needed to get this kid patched up. He walked the rest of the way to his apartment, the small child secured in his arms. The child subconsciously gripped the front of Akashi's shirt, burying his face into Akashi's chest.

Akashi felt his heart go out to the child, and at the same time rage pooled in the pit of his stomach. He wanted whoever did this to pay. He felt a deep connection with the child, and vowed to take care of him.

-Line-

Akashi had made it home a mere few minutes later, fetching his first-aid kit. He dressed the child's wounds, scowling whenever he found a particularly nasty looking one. Akashi had let the boy sleep, but began to get a bit worried after five days of the kid not showing even the faintest signs of waking. It was the sixth afternoon that the boy woke. Akashi was fixing himself some lunch when he heard a _crash _and a yelp of surprise from his bedroom, where he had put the boy. Akashi himself had slept on his couch for the almost-week he had been housing the kid.

Akashi walked into the room, not quite sure what he should be expecting. Well, whatever he was expecting, it wasn't this. He snorted as he looked on at the scene before him. The kid was half-wrapped in blankets, half hanging from Akashi's bed. The blanked eventually fell, covering him completely. He scrambled out of the blankets, taking in a deep breath when he was finally free. He noticed Akashi as he stood, jumping when he did.

"Who are you?" he asked innocently, looking up at Akashi with wide eyes. Akashi allowed himself a small smile.

"Akashi Seijuurou." He said, couching down to him with an outstretched hand. "And you are?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya." The child told him with a bright smile. Akashi's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he heard this, shocked still. Tetsuya? Akashi shook his head, disbelief washing over him. There was no way that this _kid_ was Tetsuya… Or was there? Despite the clear indicator that he _should_ be disbelieving, but he just couldn't bring himself to fully believe that this kid isn't Kuroko. He had no idea where the belief came from, but it wouldn't leave him, no matter how hard he tried.

"Akashi-san?" the mini-Tetsu asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion. Akashi abruptly snapped back to attention, making Kuroko jump. "Are you alright?" He asked sweetly, concerned for this stranger. Akashi smiled slightly at the kid.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking. Anyways," he added, getting back to the original conversation, "Do you mind if I call you Tetsuya?" Kuroko's soft features scrunched up in thought before smoothing out again, forming immediately into a smile.

"If I can call you Seijuurou-nii." Kuroko told him boldly, a look of pure seriousness on his face, looking extremely out of place. Akashi chuckled lightly.

"Quite the bargainer, eh?" he smiled lightly. "Sure, Tetsuya. It's a deal." He held out a hand for him to seal the deal, and he took it happily. Tetsuya's stomach growled loudly, cutting off any further conversation. He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ne, Seijuurou-nii, do you have any food?" Akashi nodded, returning to his previous task of preparing lunch.

"I have a sandwich done now, if you want that." He said, holding up said sandwich. It was a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but it was enough for Tetsuya. He nodded vigorously, eyeing the sandwich with hungry eyes. "I'll take that as a yes." Akashi handed the sandwich to the blue-haired child who anything but ripped it out of his hands. He wolfed it down immediately, rivaling Kagami's eating habits. It shocked Akashi immensely; Tetsuya had always had a weak appetite, so much that he thought he might not finish the one sandwich considering the fact that he was much younger now.

"Can I have another one?" Akashi was even more appalled by the younger Tetsuya when he said that, but handed him another sandwich nonetheless. Tetsuya had eaten four sandwiches before he was full, and Akashi could only gape at his former-teammate-turned-chibi as he sighed in contentment. He looked at Akashi with a confused expression adorning his features. "Something wrong?" Akashi shook his head, going back to make himself some sandwiches for his own lunch. This incident was becoming more interesting by the minute.

Kuroko waited for Akashi to finish his lunch as long as he could before he got bored. When he did, he got up to wander his new environment. He saw a basketball in the corner of the room, remembering all the times he had watched basketball with his dad. Grinning from ear to ear, he picked up the ball. He started dribbling the ball, albeit not very well. He used his palm as he dribbled, not knowing to just use his fingertips.

"Try not to break anything!" Akashi called from the room over, startling Kuroko. He jumped, missing the ball completely. He flinched as he heard a loud _CRASH _of something glass shattering.

"Too late!" He called back with a grimace. Oops. He looked over to the site of the incident; a glass vase had been hit by the ball, knocking it to the floor. He heard Akashi walk into the room with a sigh.

"I need to keep a closer eye you, don't I?" He asked Kuroko, a hand on his hip. Kuroko looked away from him, a look of guilt crossing over his face.

"Sorry…" he said quietly. He looked back up at Akashi, "I tried?" Akashi couldn't help but laugh at the questioning way he said that. He moved to clean up the glass, a small smile on his face.

"It's fine, Tetsuya. Just be a bit more careful next time, okay?" he told him, ruffling his blue hair with one hand. Kuroko nodded with a bright smile.

"Okay! I'll try not to break anything else, Seijuurou-nii." There were no further incidents that night, and Kuroko had ended up watching a movie with Akashi. Akashi had been browsing Netflix when Kuroko pointed out a movie he's wanted to watch for a while called 'How to Train Your Dragon.' The movie actually turned out pretty good, both of them enjoyed it. Kuroko had fallen asleep near the end, and Akashi was tired as well by the time the movie had ended. With a yawn, he settled back into the couch. Kuroko was snuggled up against him, dead to the world. Akashi had fallen asleep that night with a smile on his face.

**A/N: thanks to AngelHeartObsession, Another observer of the world, BerryBliss, and Kyaaa- 1095 for reviewing last chapter. This is my first fansiction, so I dodn't really expect so much feedback already. I literally came home from school to see this o_o you're all awesome, seriously**


	3. Chapter 2

**Just a quick note- I will be taking his fic in the direction of an AU, but nothing too bad, just some details that will make this a bit more fun to read (prepare your bodies)**

Kuroko's POV

Kuroko had woken up before Akashi that morning. He had woken up pressed up against the older male's side, his face buried in his shirt. Kuroko yawned and slowly got up from the couch, not wanting to wake up the red haired teen. He realized he had slept in his day clothes, and definitely needed to change.

Being the nosy child he is, Kuroko went into Akashi's bedroom and searched for something to wear. Literally everything Akashi owned was way too big for Kuroko's tiny body, and it really didn't surprise him since Akashi didn't have a younger sibling. Kuroko did what he could with what he found, deciding to just put on a black t-shirt that went down to the middle of his shins. He didn't mind the length; the shirt was actually pretty comfy.

"Tetsuya, what are you doing?" Akashi yawned as he stepped into the room.

"Changing," Kuroko said innocently, "Okaa-san says I shouldn't wear the same clothes all the time, so I wore Seijuurou-nii's clothes since I don't have any with me. Is that okay?" Akashi blinked as the situation dawned on him. He felt his face heat up as he blushed at seeing Kuroko dressed in one of his shirts that were way too big for him. He looked adorable, to say the least. He coughed, bringing his mind back to where he wanted it.

"We're going shopping. My clothes don't fit you, so you're going to need clothes of your own." With that said and done, Akashi had taken Kuroko on a shopping trip. At first Akashi was a bit worried that Kuroko's lack of presence would get him lost, but he didn't have a lack at all. Actually, he would've been hard to _not _keep track of. Whenever he would wander off he would practically announce it to the world with how loud he was. Akashi prided himself in always being right, but when it came to Tetsuya right now, everything came as a surprise. He never knew what the child would do, how he would act, hell he wasn't even completely sure he knew his former teammate's personality anymore. It pissed him off a bit, but his anger paled in comparison to his concern. If he was this loud and rambunctious as a kid, what the hell happened to make him stoic and near invisible as a teenager? Akashi suddenly remembered the state he had found the blue-haired kid in, leaving him stopped in the road for a second. What had happened to Kuroko? Whatever had left him in that state didn't do it on accident, so what really happened?

"Seijuurou-nii?" Kuroko called in confusion, snapping Akashi out of his thoughts, "Why did you stop? Is something wrong?" He had concern written all over his face, another stark contrast to his older counterpart. Akashi scowled internally at being left completely in the dark, but kept his face neutral.

"No, I'm fine Tetsuya. I was just thinking." He held out a hand for Kuroko, "Let's keeping going and get you some clothes." He said a small smile on his face. Kuroko grinned broadly, making Akashi's smile a bit brighter. He didn't know what it was about this Kuroko, but it made him want to smile. Sure he was still annoyed about the confusion regarding Kuroko's apparently shifted personality, but he could live in the now, if only for Kuroko's sake.

The two of them had gone to the local clothing store, and it was as busy as you would expect on a Sunday morning. They had shopped for a mere two hours before Akashi was presented with a problem. Money was easy to take care of, but carrying all of Kuroko's clothes was not a job meant for one person. They had to get an entire wardrobe's worth of clothes for him since Akashi had no idea how long he would be staying with him, and he was seriously struggling to carry all of it. He couldn't expect the kid to carry all of it on his own, especially when Akashi himself could hardly handle it. There was not much Akashi couldn't handle, but he discovered today that shopping for a kid was one of those things. By the time they had made it back to Akashi's apartment, Akashi was nearly gasping for breath. When his breath was regulated, Akashi had turned to Kuroko.

"So, do you want to change now?" Akashi was confused once again that day when Kuroko shook his head. "Why not?" He asked, confusion clear in his voice. Kuroko beamed up at him, his eyes bright.

"Because Seijuurou-nii's shirt is comfy!" He exclaimed happily.

"And we definitely didn't just buy you clothes." Akashi sighed exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair. "Alright, do what you want."

_Taking care of a kid is harder than I thought. _Akashi thought as he looked at the ecstatic child. He smiled slightly as Kuroko did a sort of victory dance at being able to keep on Akashi's shirt. _Or maybe it's just Tetsuya. _

"Seijuurou-nii, can we play the game now?" He asked excitedly, his eyes sparkling in anticipation. Akashi had also bought Kuroko a game while he was there considering he did have a Wii that he never used. He couldn't remember when he got it for the life of him; all he knew was that he never found the time to use it. Kuroko had somehow persuaded Akashi to buy Just Dance 2014, and he seemed pretty accomplished with himself with this. Akashi had no idea what he had just walked into, and me may or may not regret his decision.

"Sure, let me get it out of the bag." _If I can find what bag it's in._ He added to himself, laughing nervously as he looked back at the mass of bags placed in his living room. He searched every bag, but couldn't find the game. He looked back in the first bag he went through the first time, finding the game in the bottom of the bag. _Of course it was in the first bag I looked in. _He thought, glaring at the game package. Kuroko had somehow figured out how to turn the Wii on, and all Akashi had to do was insert the disk. Once the game was inserted, Akashi got on to the file and blanched at what he saw. _Oh you have got to be shitting me._ He thought incredulously as he saw the horrifying outfits on the neon-colored sprites that danced in equally ridiculous ways. He saw Kuroko snicker out of the corner of his eye and turned to stare at him.

"You planned this didn't you," He deadpanned, a dark aura surrounding him. Kuroko only laughed harder.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Seijuurou-nii." Akashi gave Kuroko a good-natured glare as he ruffled his hair.

"You little monster." He laughed, Kuroko joining him. "So," he continued, looking back to the screen, "What song?" Kuroko had pointed out one called 'Turn up the Love,' which Akashi had clicked with only minimum hesitation. "I swear to god if it was anyone else I wouldn't be doing this. You seriously owe me now, Tetsuya." He grinned over to the blue haired child who beamed back to him.

"I'll try to remember that." He snickered as the song started. As the song progresses they both did amazing… not. They quite literally sucked at the game when they first started, and Kuroko laughed especially hard when he actually won. This lead to a totally mature bout of rematches from Akashi, who lost almost every time. By the time they had replayed the song the tenth time, they had begun singing a warbled version of the song with their gasping breaths from the exercise and excessive laughter. Akashi got really intense on this this one, dead set on beating the child at least once. It got so intense that Akashi actually slipped. Not an oh-I-slipped-on-air-silly-me kind of slip but an oh-shit-my-legs-are-literally-over-my-head-and-where-the-hell-did-that-table-come-from kind of slip. Akashi had actually won that match somehow, considering he had only slipped just near the end. Kuroko had erupted into peals of laughter as Akashi did a sorry excuse for a victory cheer from the floor. Akashi had only grinned manically before leaping over to the child. With a squeal Kuroko's laughter intensified as Akashi attacked his sides, finding out the hard way that he was _really_ ticklish. The two had played a few more songs before they were nearly non-respondent from exhaustion. They had ended up crashing in Akashi's bed again, neither bothering to change. They both only grumbled incoherently at the thought, mindlessly sliding onto the mattress. Needless to say, they had gotten some intense sleep that night.

**A/N: woohoo, chapter 2 is DONE! I'm having a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you all enjoy reading it just as much. (Like seriously I spend all of my free time writing this. I have chapter 4 halfway done in a notebook already.) And Christmas break at my school is almost here! Just two more days and I'm home free for two weeks. I might upload faster, but it isn't guaranteed lol**


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